Medicinal Plant Research 2025, Vol.15, No.1, 20-31 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/mpr 25 Furthermore, functional foods can avert diabetic long-term complications such as cardiovascular disease, neuropathy, nephropathy, and retinopathy. It has been established through research that functional foods can enhance dyslipidemia and insulin resistance, which play a primary role in the pathogenesis of diabetes complications (Mirmiran et al., 2014). For instance, a functional food-based diet has been shown to reduce metabolic endotoxemia and improve biochemical abnormalities in T2DM patients, thereby constituting a general dietary approach to diabetes treatment and complication prevention (Medina-Vera et al., 2019). Figure 2 Macronutrients regulate insulin resistance and glucose homeostasis through distinct molecular mechanisms (Adopted from Yang et al., 2023) Image caption: Fructose leads to insulin resistance by increasing hepatic lipogenesis and impairing gut immunity. Dietary fiber improves insulin sensitivity through gut microbiome-derived SCFAs. Increased dietary fat intake elevates free fatty acid levels, especially unsaturated fatty acids, thereby attenuating insulin sensitivity by inducing pro-inflammatory activity and activating DAG-PKC signaling. Increased BCAA levels induce insulin resistance through activation of mTOR-IRS signaling and BCAA metabolite-induced oxidative stress. Glycine improves insulin sensitivity potentially through the generation of glutathione, and arginine contributes to insulin sensitivity by inhibiting FoxO1. BCAA, branched-chain amino acid; DAG, diglyceride; ER stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress; FA, fatty acid; FFAR, free fatty acid receptor; FoxO1, forkhead/winged helix transcription factor O-class member 1; GPR120, G-protein coupled receptor 120; GLP-1, glucagon-like peptide-1; IR, insulin receptor; IRS, insulin receptor substrate; mTOR, mammalian target of rapamycin; PYY, peptide tyrosine tyrosine; PKC, protein kinase C; PPAR, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor; PUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acid; SCFA, short-chain fatty acid; TLR, toll-like receptor; TNF, tumor necrosis factor. →: Activation; Nutrients 15 04671 i002: Inhibition (Adopted from Yang et al., 2023) 5.3 Intervention in metabolic syndrome Metabolic syndrome, characterized by obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension, is a worldwide health problem. Functional foods have been found to play an important role in preventing and reducing metabolic syndrome. Functional foods contain components that can increase insulin sensitivity, serum lipid profiles, antioxidant status, and inflammation levels. For example, traditional food products like fruits, vegetables, flaxseed, oat, barley, whole grain, soy, and milk were found to be composed of ingredients with potential health benefits in the treatment of metabolic syndrome (Made et al., 2012; Khan et al., 2013).
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNA==